the mimic
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
Kenny's taken to mimicking me. All the time. It's usually little things, but with increasing frequency he imitates words (and sounds) that I make, and he imitates my actions.
Today I was trying to take a photo of him. I had to back away from him because he was too close to properly frame the shot. In response, he turned around and began walking backwards, in the same direction that I was retreating. Naturally, I was distracted from taking the pic because I was laughing.
Then later on I was sitting in the hall brushing my teeth and keeping an eye on him. I'm big enough that I can barely fit in the hall while sitting across it, and with my back on one wall I could just fit by tucking my knees up to my chin and putting the soles of my feet on the opposite wall. It was cramped like a airliner. In response to my strange pose, Kenny tried to sit with his back against the one wall and his feet flat on the other wall. He was far too small, but took up a hilarious cycle of first putting his back flat against the wall then scootching forward so that his feet were against the opposite wall; then he'd go back to putting his back against the first wall...
Giving up on that tactic, he started a new one. Rolling over, he started pushing himself up on his hands and toes and then 'walking backward' up the wall. Soon his entire body was well off the ground and his feet were at the same level as mine on the wall. He couldn't maintain the stance for long and eventually collapsed back to the floor, but he'd achieved his ambition it seemed for he was all smiles.